Walker rallies GOP troops in Green Bay

ALLOUEZ – Gov. Scott Walker is urging supporters in the Green Bay area to rally their friends and neighbors, as the incumbent faces a tight race for re-election.

"We're going to need every bit," Walker said during a stop Thursday at a Republican field office in Allouez.

The GOP incumbent is seeking a second term Nov. 4, but recent polls show him running neck and neck with Democratic challenger Mary Burke.

Burke, a former state commerce secretary, was campaigning elsewhere Thursday, although she is scheduled to visit Green Bay over the weekend.

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Brother Bob Smith, from Milwaukee, embraces Gov. Scott Walker at the Republican Party of Wisconsin's Green Bay Field Office in Allouez on Thursday. Smith has been friends with Walker for 20 years.(Photo: Evan Siegle/Press-Gazette Media)

Supporters greeted Walker enthusiastically in Allouez, saying they are confident he will come out ahead when the votes are counted in November.

Amanda Metcalf, a college student volunteering at the GOP field office, said that although the race is close, she senses that Republicans are just as determined as they were when Walker first ran for governor four years ago.

"There's just a lot of enthusiasm," she said. "Everybody's getting excited."

Another volunteer, Lois Novicki, said she is unconcerned about the polls. Working the phone bank for Walker, Novicki said she hears much positive feedback from people planning to vote for him in November.

"I'm feeling very hopeful," she said.

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Volunteers work inside the office after Thursday’s visit from Gov. Scott Walker at the Republican Party of Wisconsin's Green Bay Field Office in Allouez.(Photo: Evan Siegle/Press-Gazette Media)

Addressing supporters and the news media during the campaign stop, Walker continued questioning Burke's performance as commerce secretary under then-Gov. Jim Doyle. Walker said his administration has rescued Wisconsin from economic doldrums by creating an environment in which businesses are moving here and unemployment is going down.